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GREENSBURG, Pa. – Slippery Rock University locked up sole possession of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division football championship Saturday afternoon with a 55-21 win over hosting Seton Hill University at Offutt Field.

The win gave SRU, which shared the crown in 2011, its first undisputed division title since 1999. The Rock shared the division title in both 2000 and 2011.

Equally importantly, The Rock's seventh consecutive win, ninth victory in 10 games this fall and sixth triumph in seven division games earned the Green and White a berth in next Saturday's PSAC Championship Game.

The Rock will travel to Bloomsburg for the title game after the Huskies knocked off previously-unbeaten West Chester, 31-28, Saturday to win a share of the PSAC-Eastern Division title.

Bloomsburg (9-1) finished their division schedule tied with Shippensburg and West Chester for first place but earned the title-game berth on tiebreaker criteria.

The Rock outgained Seton Hill, which lost its 23rd consecutive game and fell to 0-10 overall, 0-7 in PSAC-West action this fall, by a 562-301 margin in total offense behind a 468-yard passing attack.

On the flip side, The Rock defense had another stellar effort in stopping the run as Seton Hill managed only 50 yards on 50 rushing attempts.

Senior wide receivers John Schademan and Ken Amos paced the winning offensive attack. Schademan caught nine passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns, while Amos caught eight passes for 133 yards and one TD. Redshirt freshman Leroy McClain had three catches for 74 yards.

The TD catches were the 13th and 14th of the season for Schademan and gave him sole possession of The Rock's single-season pass receiving TDs record. Schademan entered the game tied with Rock All-American and Arena Football League Hall of Famer Greg Hopkins (1994).

Senior quarterback Nigel Barksdale completed 15 of 30 passes for 262 yards and three TDs with two interceptions, while his backup, redshirt freshman Zack Newsock threw for 206 yards and two TDs, also with two INTs.

Redshirt freshman running back Dominic Dingle scored his first collegiate TD on a 22-yard run to account for The Rock's final score.

The other Rock TD came on an 82-yard kickoff return by true freshman Drew Scales.

The Rock held a 28-0 lead before Seton Hill ruined the shutout with a touchdown 12 seconds prior to Scales' kick-return TD with 8:21 left to play in the third quarter.

SRU enjoyed a 49-7 lead with five minutes left to play before the hosts scored a pair of TDs in the final minutes to offset Dingle's TD run.

The Rock defense, which entered the game ranked fourth nationally in denying opponents successful conversions of third-down opportunities with a 23.6% allowance rate, did nothing to hurt that average Saturday. SRU held Seton Hill to a 3-for-19 (15.8%) success rate.

SRU's stop troop also entered the game ranked third in the 16-team PSAC in stopping the run at 98.8 yards per game and, as already mentioned, held the Griffins to only 50 rushing yards on 50 carries Saturday.


The last time a Rock defense threw opposing quarterbacks down 10 times in a game was in 1991 against California (Pa.).

All five of Peacock's tackles were made behind the line of scrimmage, including one for minus-6 yards on a running play.

Redshirt sophomore free safety Derek Morgan rounded out the defensive headlines with a first-quarter interception that set the stage for The Rock's second touchdown.

Saturday's outcome was never in doubt as The Rock offense marched 87 yards in seven plays on the game's opening drive to take a lead they would never relinquish. Barksdale and Schademan connected for an 11-yard TD pass to cap the drive after only 99 seconds had elapsed off the game clock.

SRU had to wait until the remainder of the opening quarter before they would add to their lead. Newsock hooked up with senior tight end Robert Joyce for a 10-yard TD to cap a four-play, 31-yard drive.

The short drive, which made the score 14-0 with 1:38 left in the period, was set up by Morgan's interception, which he returned 35 yards to the Seton Hill 46. A late-hit personal foul penalty on the Griffins moved the ball 15 yards closer to the goal line.

The Rock expanded their lead in the opening seconds of the second quarter when, on the ensuing Seton Hill possession, SRU freshman defensive back Derrick Fulmore blocked a punt and pounced on the loose ball in the end zone for a TD. The first of seven extra-point kicks by junior Mike Wainauskis made the score 21-0 The Rock with 14:53 left before halftime.

That's where the score stood when the teams headed for their locker rooms at the intermission.

Aided by two false-start penalties and a delay of game infraction, the hosts had minus-24 yards in offense on their first drive of the second half and were forced to punt from their own 1-yard line.

Three plays after taking possession at the Griffins' 37, The Rock scored their fourth TD of the game, Barksdale and Schademan connecting for a 32-yard score with 12:40 left in the third period.

Seton Hill finally got on the scoreboard with 8:33, thanks to a four-play, 63-yard drive helped along by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on The Rock.

The Griffins' excitement lasted exactly 12 seconds, the length of time it took Scales to catch the kickoff at The Rock 18 and scamper 82 yards to the end zone. That gave The Rock a 35-7 lead with 8:21 left in the third period.

SRU pushed its lead to 42-7 early in the fourth quarter with a three-play, 80-yard scoring drive that lasted only 65 seconds. Amos took a pass in the flat, slipped a tackle and sprinted 67 yards for a TD to cap the drive at the 13:51 mark.

After turning the ball over on each of its next two possessions, one via a muffed punt return by Scales and the other via an interception thrown by Newsock, The Rock expanded its advantage to 49-7.

Newsock and Scales made amends for their turnovers by teaming up for a 13-yard TD pass with 5:12 left to play. The TD toss capped an 11-play, 67-yard drive.

Seton Hill went 82 yards in four plays on the ensuing drive to make it a 49-14 score before Dingle dashed 22 yards to cap a four-play, 75-yard Rock scoring drive that made the score 55-14 with 2:29 left to play. Wainauskis was unsuccessful on his attempt for an eighth extra point.

A seven-play, 62-yard Seton Hill scoring drive set the final margin at 55-21.

Notes:

The Rock go in search of their first conference championship since 1974 when they travel to Bloomsburg for next Saturday's PSAC title game … SRU, which won outright PSAC-West titles in 1997, 1998 and 1999 and shared the division titles in 2000, was denied the opportunity to play for the conference title those seasons because the PSAC did not sponsor a title game from 1988-2008 ... The Rock lost a 21-14 decision at Kutztown in the 2011 title game … Schademan, in addition to setting the school single-season pass receiving TD mark Saturday, moved into second place on the single-season pass receiving yards chart. With 1,242 yards in the first 10 games this fall, Schademan stands 42 yards away from breaking Hopkins' record of 1,283 yards in 1994. Schademan moved past Hopkins' second-best single-season mark of 1,229 record in 1993 … Schademan now ranks fourth on the single-season pass receptions chart with 63. Hopkins holds the top two marks in that category as well with 83 in 1994 and 79 in 1993. Devin Goda's 2011 total of 75 catches is the third-best mark … Schademan is fourth in career TD catches with 18, 10 away from Hopkins' school-record total, and ranks fifth in career receptions with 115, exactly 100 shy of Hopkins' career total … Barksdale, who already holds the school record for single-season TD passes (28) and passing yards (3,326), is six completions and 10 attempts away from setting new standards in those categories. Cody Endres set both those marks with a 230-for-374 showing in 2011 … Barksdale ranks fourth in career passing yards with 4,741. Randy McKavish holds the school record with 7,634 yards.